Brrrr and a chance encounter.

[cheesy]

May has abandoned us for March in the Chicago area this weekend. 25mph winds with 40mph gusts made things a tad dicey, but I took the bike out anyway.

I was on a two part mission. I'll be in Texas next week for work and then my youngest and I will be doing some bicycling in Minnesota next weekend, so I wanted to get some miles in before I parked the bike for a week or more. Part two of the mission was to pay a visit the Royal Enfield dealer to actually touch one those bikes.

The high winds today took me back to the early 70s and my 1967 Honda CS90. I remember riding up US12 in cross winds that had me leaning the bike to go in a straight line, yet, I don't recall having any of the trepidation that I had early on during the ride today. Maybe it's acquired wisdom and the realization that, "Hey, this could really hurt." Or, maybe, I was really a stupid kid way back then.

Once I got used to the occasional buffeting from passing a lake or an open field, I really was enjoying the ride. The only discomfort I really felt was my knees being cold and that actually dulled the pain my knees usually suffer. My full face helmet managed to help keep my nose from running and making things really gross. :oops:

I wasn't exactly sure where the dealer was located, so naturally, when I needed to turn right, I turned left. When I ended up in the wrong town, I turned around and went the other way. I ended up riding past the place three times. When I finally found the place and pulled into their lot, the sign said 'Closed-Sunday Hours Resume After Memorial Day'. :? Oh well. I did peek in the windows and what I saw will mean a return trip in a couple of weeks.

The return home was a blast and also a bit sobering. With the wind at my back most of the time, things were quite comfortable. I took a bit of a different route back that ran me past where I got hit on my bicycle. There was an older woman working her garden along the fence where it happened and I decided to pull over and talk to her. She remembered the all the hubbub and told me she saw it happen and was one the folks that called 911 that morning. Told her I was that unlucky schmuck and thanked her for calling. Then, out of the blue, she said she had something that thought was probably mine and asked me to wait. She was back a minute or so later and I said "Oh, my God", as she handed me my MSR fuel bottle that went orbital when I got smacked. She'd found it in her garden about a month later when she was picking squash. She put in her shed and forgot about it. Kinda scratched up and the loop was broken off the cap but no dents and still had fuel in it. The bottle was the one thing we never found and I wrote it off as being run over or in 'left sock limbo'.

Well, I thanked her many times over and plan to bring her a bottle or two of wine that my buddy in France sends me every year. :wink: I managed about 60 miles today, which is my longest ride to date. And the old moves are coming back. One of these days, I'll remember my camera.

[FastDoc]

Glad you had a good ride.

I'm very used to the wind, as it's a frequent factor up here, but I don't like it much. Some days it will blow hard enough tho move the Gold Wing around, much less the little bikes.

Our day here is similar to your's cool (mid 60's) and about a 10-25 MPH wind, cloudy. Not a great day, but I plan to go for a ride regardless. Go figure, You all know me!

I'm all about the Enfields. I'd love a newer fuel injected one. I think they are priced about a grand too high though. Maybe they are worth it when you see one in person, or the dealers have some room to come down on price.

I'm glad you got your bottle back. It was nice of you to make time to talk to the lady. People are important.

Maybe I can find a coyote at my crash site along the highway to tell me where my skin went? :roll:

[Weldangrind]

What a kind lady! Thanks for sharing that story; looking forward to updates when you visit the RE dealer.

[SpudRider]

I very glad you got back your MSR fuel bottle! I'm also glad you had a good ride, Cheesy.

Spud